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Steps to Protect Yourself from Debt Collection Scam Calls Whether You Owe a Debt or Not!

Article by SCF. Filed Under: Debt Collection

In recent years, fraudulent Debt Collection has morphed itself into an organized crime industry with hundreds of rogue call centers, operating primarily in the third world, targeting citizens of the United States, UK, Canada, Australia and other western countries. The call centers employ thousands of people trained to speak with American or British accent (in which they fail miserably!). The employees identify themselves to the called, with western names and proceed to alert him / her about fictitious unpaid debt. The dazed “debtor” is given a short notice, usually 24 hours, to make payment or face legal action including imminent arrest.

The Federal Trade Commission which is tasked with the responsibility of preventing consumer fraud in the US, has done little to eliminate Debt Collection fraud except managing to shut down few companies which had outsourced the illegal operation to call centers in India.

There has only been sporadic action by FTC. According to an Huffington Post Report dated February 2012, FTC managed to shut down American Credit Crunchers LLC and Ebeeze LLC based in California, which used call centers in India to defraud Americans, out of more than $5 million over two years. According to the FTC itself, it has brought or resolved cases against Forensic Case Management Services, Luebke Baker and Associates, Goldman Schwartz, AMG Services, Pro Credit Group, and Broadway Global Master apart from American Credit Crunchers LLC and Ebeeze LLC in 2011, 2012. However this is just tip of the iceberg. 90% of all the call centers involved in this massive scam are not on American shores.

The FTC is groping in the dark while citizens are being defrauded millions of dollars year after year. The massive amount of political diplomacy required to shutdown rouge call centers in India and abroad is absent. FTC has failed to get the Federal Government to force third world countries where such call centers operate, to enact strict laws against operating call centers targeted to scam American Citizens.

Steps to Protect Yourself from Debt Collection Scam Calls

If you owe a debt:

If you owe a debt and get a call, be alert that the caller could still be a scammer who has no relation with the company from whom you took the loan.

If you owe debt and get a call, inform caller that you will take appropriate action ONLY after verifying with your debtor, personally.

Debt Collector is bound by law to identify the company to whom debt is owed and to identify himself and his company (debt collector’s company)

Debt Collector is bound by law to send all information related to the debt, in writing, to you.

Ask the caller for their name, company, street address, and telephone number

Check with your debtor directly regarding the call and proceed as required

If the caller refuses to identify himself, his company and the debt you owe, you can take it for granted that it’s a scam call.

If you do not owe a debt:

If you do not oweany debt, be extremely rude to the caller and inform that you are aware of Debt Collection scam and the caller and his call center will be busted soon.

Do not get cowed down by empty threats like “You will be arrested”, “You will be jailed”, or “Warrant is out for your arrest” etc.

Be aware that no enforcement agency will ever arrest you without physically serving summons and giving you ample time to defend yourself.

You will never get summons unless you have actually defaulted and you have failed to comply with request to square off debt over several weeks or months.

Serving of summons or an arrest will never be sudden, as is being made out by the fraud caller.

Never give away personal or financial info to a caller.

Report all fake Debt Collection calls to FTC and the State Attorney General's office.

If you get an unexpected call or a message, from a Debt Collector, report it instantly. at Scamcallfighters.com